We're Only Outsmarting Ourselves

I don’t believe that there is a “best” way to address climate change. Action is action. There are so many approaches that are possible, each with its merits. With our global situation at present, it is just necessary to take action; we can’t afford to be picky right now. And, as with any complex problem, it will not be one solution but a combination of many that truly attacks the problem. I also believe that the U.S. cannot discount the fact that other nations are making impacts and we are not. It is easy to scapegoat our obstacles to the government, but one of my classmates made the point that our representatives are essentially supposed to be representations of our beliefs. So, are the representatives not properly portraying our wants, is the public not concerned enough, or a little bit of both?

The global economy is based upon competition. So, it is understandable that this article would bring out this obvious competition between China and the U.S. However, I viewed this comparison as a chance for progress instead of the end result of an ultimate winner and loser. First, there are not just two parties involved in this article. Friedman mentions the European Union, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea as also having legislature put in place to deal with electronics recycling. This is important when talking about Biddle’s business because those are the places that recycle enough to make his work viable. Behind my house right now, there are electronics sitting in the back alley, because it is just hard to get rid of them. Also, Friedman gives the U.S. a lot of credit for our spirit of innovation, something that China lacks. But the trick is that innovation is only a part of the process; the other part is implementation. China is good at implementing ideas and tweaking them to make them most cost effective. In essence, the U.S. and China could work together…life is not always a race.

I’ve seen this recurring theme lately in environmental politics: if it’s not directly visible, then it doesn’t exist. Friedman criticizes American politicians, as he should, for debating whether climate change exists. For the Chinese, there is no debate. “People see, eat, and breathe pollution every day”, according to Liu in the article. The United States cannot wait until the changes are this obvious, it will be too late. Right now it is easy for Americans to ignore these problems, because they can go through their days without being directly, immediately affected. Climate change is real; it cannot be ignored. If it is, we will end up in a horrible situation where each day the climate hurts us significantly.